Apparatus for manufacture of coated products



1944- J. H. BALTHIS ETAL 2,360,097

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF COATED PRODUCTS Original Filed March 21, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l CO4 77/VG C OMPOS/ 7' ION 2 FROM F0 MECf/AMJM C v I 7 I AND wwa-up MfCA/AN/SM 1 Jose v/zHB'alt/zz's A turWlarcar INVENTORS Oct. 10, 1944. J BALTHls ETAL 2,360,097

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF COATED PRODUCTS I Original Filed March 21, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 e/osepfiEBaZtfiiS INVENTOR: A ri/zuz' ng l/az'cllar M a. W I ATTORNEY Pltented Oct. 10, 1944 APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF COATED PRODUCTS Joseph H. Balthis, Wilmington, DeL, and Arthur W. Lax-char, Mendenhall, Pa., assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours a Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Original application March 21, 1940, Serial No. 325,230. Divided and this application July 1, 1942, Serial No. 449,282

Claims. (Cl. 91-43) This application is a division of application Serial No. 325,230, now U. S. Patent 2,308,638, filed March 21, 1940 and assigned to the assignee hereof.

The invention relates to the manufacture of coated articles and particularly to novel processes and apparatus for applying a coating of electrlcally insulating material to wire.

Heretofore coating materials have been applied to wire in a number of ways. One method consists in drawing the wire through a solution of the material and then removing the solvent by heating the residual deposit. Another method consists in passing the wire through the molten or plastic material, and finally conducting the wire with an excess of the material adhering to it, through a shaping orifice which scrapes the excess ofi the wire, as for instance acircular doctor blade, and thus leaves it with an overall cross-section approximately equal to that of the orifice. Another method, which has been described as applicable in the case of polystyrene, consists in passing plastic polymer through an annular orifice, while concomitantly stretching it out in such a manner that its flexibility is in creased by the stretching and reduction in diameter which it undergoes, the said reduction in diameter also causing it to fit around a wire which passes concentrically through the said orifice axially of the said stretched polystyrene, and synchronously therewith.

The first of the above stated procedures has the disadvantage that the solvent removal step is time consuming and costly and in that it is difiicult to produce coats of satisfactory thickness and freedom from pin holes. Furthermore,

the process does not lend itself to the application of certain insulating coatings, e. g., polyhexamethylene adipamide, which are not soluble in readily volatile non-corrosive solvents.

In the second above stated procedure, wherein the wire laden with coating material passes through an orifice whose diameter is substantially equal to that of the wire as finally coated, thick coverings of thermoplastic materials such as rubber and polyvinyl chloride generally are siderable distance intervene between the orifice and the point at which the po s yr ne finally contacts the Use of a coating material which at the instant of contacting the wire is in such a state that it may be roughened by vibration thereof, consequently is not feasible in this process, since such tou hening increases in proportion to the said distance. Moreover, the process is not operative with truly molten material, since a liquid, even if it be maintained throughout at a temperature only slightly above its solidifying point, is not-responsive to the said stretching.

In attempting to overcome the disadvantages of the foregoing methods applicants have conducted exhaustive researches with various materials and compositions, but most notably with the highly polymeric compoimds typified by the fiber-forming synthetic linear polymers and polyamides described in U. S. Patents 2,071,250; 2,071,253 and 2,130,948. These. polymers, also referred to as superpolymers, differ widely from thermoplastic materials, for instance, in that they characteristically melt sharply. by reason of their crystalline nature, whereas thermoplastic materials soften gradually over wide temperature ranges. When molten, these synthetic linear polymers behave like true liquids, i. e., they exhibit Newtonic rather than plastic fiow. Also, the said polymers possess outstanding flexibility, toughness and abrasion resistance, are highly immune from chemical attack by substances with which electrical insulation is apt to be contacted, as for instance, chlorinated hydrocarbons in transformers, or the usual compounds employed as refrigerants, and in numerous other respects are very suitable for use as insulation for electrical conductors. This invention involves particularly, therefore, the production of electrical conductors bearing relatively thin coatings of the said polymers, and will be presented particularly in connection therewith. The invention is not to be limited thereto, however, since it is applicable for L the solution of problems presented by other filamentary objects or core: or other coating operations or materials, whenever and wherever there tical range of coating thicknesses producible by is pertinent identity or analogy between the re- 2 v spective objects, material's, operations, and problems.

sure, as it is in extrusion coating processes. ing essentially non-thermoplastic, as hereinabove explained, the polymers must be melted prior to One of the principal obstacles that has been overcome by this invention, especially in respect of the said polymers, is illustrated by their tendency toward bubble formation on being kept for any appreciable time in the molten condition. This difliculty becomes particularly acute when the pressure .on the moltenpolymer is reduced,

e. g. from superatmospheric to atmospheric presextrusion, and in most cases very high temperatures'must be employed to accomplish this end. The result is that gases tend to be formed, especially where the melting has been accomplished in a gaseous atmosphere and under pressure exerted by melt-extrusion mechanism. The characteristic formation of bubble of gas which follows subsequent exposure of the polymers while still molten, to lower pressures, appears due both to some degree of thermal decomposition of the polymer and to release of gas which was forced into solution by the said pressure. Or there may be other and unknown causes. In any event,

' the problem of eliminating such bubble formation is one that must be solved. A particular aspect of the importance of this problem becomes apparent when it is considered that the dielectric strength of coatings containing bubbles of gases i very materially less than that of similar coatings in a bubble-free condition.

The production of such coatings having a predetermined degree of adherence or non-adherence to the object; and

The provision of processes and apparatus for the accomplishment of any and all of the objectives stated hereinbefore or hereinafter.

The objects of this invention are accomplished by maintaining a supply of molten coating composition, preferably a synthetic linear superpoly- I and smoothly. cooling the/said material o de- The problem of controlling the degree of adherence or non-removability of the coatings also presented seriou difflculties, especially in connection with the problem of bubble prevention.

One of the greatest obstacles to success consisted in the above-stated fact that it was necessary for extrusion coating with the polymers, not only to heat them above their melting points, generally upwards of 250 C., but to maintain them inthe molten condition until after their application to the object to be coated. Dealing with such polymers at such temperatures, and in their liquidstate, especiallyat the high speeds of operation desirable for economy of operation, and the production of thin coatings of, say, as low as 0.001 to 0.004 inch in thickness, entailed many difficulties and gave rise to many problems not heretofore known to the art.

This invention has as an object, therefore, the olution of the said difllculties and problems, and the achievement of the objectives indicated hereinabove and hereinafter.

More specifically, thi invention has among its objects:

The provision of smooth, continuous, thin coatings'of uniform thickness (i. e. good centering) on filamentary objects, or cores, particularly wire and stranded wires;

The provision of such coatings ranging in thickness from approximately 0.0005 inch' to approximately 0.006 inch or higher;

The provision of such coatings on objects with surfaces comprising materials of either a metallic or non-metallic, organic or inorganic, heat resistant or heat-decomposable, fibrous or nonfibrous, hard or soft, or adhesive or non-adhesive nature;

The provision of electrically insulated conductors, of coatings upon pre-insulated conductors, and of coatedv conduits and the like;

The production of such coating in a substa tially bubble-free state; i

posited to a state of congealment before reduc-' tion of the said pressure has given rise to appreciable bubble formation, or the surface of the core has been damaged by heat, and predetermining the degree of adherence or removability of the coating by appropriately controlling the initial temperature of the core, the moment of congealment of the polymer, and the interval of time between reduction of pressure to bubbleforming range and congealment.

The novel aspects of the invention will be particularized further in the claims appended hereto. A preferred embodiment of apparatus appropriate for use in the practice of the'invention will now be set forth, however, followed by details of procedure and illustrative examples showing the successful carrying out of the invention.

Fig. l is a side elevation showing a feed roll, straightening pulleys, an extrusion head, a quench bath and. several appurtenances to the same.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of an extrusion head.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the principal wire guide containing member on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a greatly over-size side elevation, drawn to a scale of 50" to 1" of the mouth of the extrusion head and the wire described in Example VI.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation poration into the apparatus shown in Fig. l, of a variable source of electric current, and pulley electrodes for connecting the said source in circuit with the wire, to pre-heat the latter.

Referring to Fig. 1 particularly: 1 is a feed reel from which wire '2 is supplied. An adjustable tension device 3 guides the wire over straightening pulleys 4 and through guides 5 in extrusion head 6, which will be described in detail in the next paragraph. Melted polymer is fed under pressure through channel 1 to the extrusion head, advantageously by'means which, though.

not shown, comprise one or more gear pumps. The polymer, while still in the moltenv state, issues from the exit end of the extrusion head, whose temperature is maintained at an appropriate level by heatingmeans which likewise are not shown, and forms a coating on the wire 2. The wire thus coated, passes into quenchbath 8, around pulleys 9 and"! through a conventional neon light continuity testing device, which is not shown, to capstan II, and finally, acted upon by traversing mechanism I2, is wound up on reel l3. The wire can be drawn from the showing the incora speed synchronized with that of the wind-up 4 reel. The latter method reduces variations in tension on the wire.

Referring to Fig. 2 particularly: The body ll of the aforesaid extrusion head 6 contains a cylindrical longitudinal recess I! which terminates in a countersunk coned surface I 8 having an apertured apex H, the aforesaid channel I leading into said recess ii at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said body I. Screwed into said recess I is a snugly fitting principal wire guide containing member it which is susceptible of longitudinal adjustment by variation of the thickness of the shims l9. This principal wire guide containing member I8 is circumferentially recessed to form a header 20, a plurality of longitudinally disposed channels 2 I, said channels 2i being shown in cross-sectional detail in Fig. 3, leading from said header 20 to a further circumferential recess 22 in said member it, which latter recess 22 terminates in a conical surface 23,. which itself terminates in an apertured apex 24. Said conical surface 23 is concentrically parallel with and uniformly spaced from the aforesaid countersunk coned surface it and forms therewith a conical annular duct 25 and mouth 28.

The aforesaid principal wire guide containing member l8 contains longitudinal recess 21 which, at its point of narrowest diameter 28-the same being located adjacently behind said apex 24-- constitutes a principal annular wire guide, which wire guide. as such, also will be denominated 28. The wire entrance end of said recess 21 is enlarged, as shown, to permit insertion of auxiliary wire guide containing member 29, the latter also containing a longitudinal recess 30, which, at its point of narrowest diameter 39. constitutes an auxiliary annular wire guide which, as such, also will be signified by the number 3|.

The aforesaid countersunk coned surface It, header 20, channels 2i, recess 22, conical surface 23, apex 24, annular duct 25, month 26, and wire guides 28 and 3| all are aligned concentrically about the common longitudinal axis of said extrusion head 6, body it, principal wire guide containing member l8, auxiliary wire guide containing member 29 and path of wire 2 through said guide; and the location of pulley 9 is adjusted in accordance with said alignment.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the mouthpiece of the extrusion head described in Example VI. The molten coating composition leaves the conical annular duct 25 at the mouth 26. The included angle 33 formed by the surfaces of the conicalduct is 90". The outer edge of the mouth of the conical duct is represented by 38 and the inner edge by 21. These edges are substantially in the same plane as the wire exit end of the principal wire guide 28, although they may be slightly above or below said plane. The

' wire is represented by 2. The most characteristic features of the mouthpiece are the conical annular duct 25 and the absence of any structure, e. g. a shaping orifice, to confine or support the coating composition after it leaves the conical duct.

Fig. 5 represents the type of assembly used when the wire is preheated. The last of the straightening pulleys l, referred to hereinabove, is made to serve as an electrode 32. At a point eight or ten feet distant from electrode 32, but

close to extrusion head I, electrod pulley assembly 33 is installed. The pulleys 4, the tension device, and the feed roll are insulated from their supports. Preferably pulley assembly 33 is insulated from its supports. The secondary of a variable transformer 34, fed from a source of current which is not'shown, is employed to control the primary of step-down transformer 35, so that the desired degree of preheating of the wire may be achieved when the wire is connected, as shown in said Fig. 5, in circuit with the said source of current. Non-metallic cores also can be preheated prior to coating, e. g. by placing the feed reel in a hot chamber or by passing the core through a heated tube or chamher just prior to its entrance into the extrusion head.

While preferred embodiments of several elements and aspects of the invention are incorporated in the said Particular extrusion head and apparatus just described, it is to be understood that the specific structure thereof is in no way limitative of the invention, and that certain variations of or additions to the said structure, as for instance those described hereinafter, are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Referring particularly to the mode of operation of the invention, applicants have selected a number of illustrative examples which, by their respective similarities and dissimilarities, will serve to bring into relief several of the more predominant elements of the invention. These examples follow:

Examrar: I

In an apparatus such as that shown in Fig. 1

molten polyhexamethylene adipamide, prepared from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid as described in U. S. 2,130,948, was forced at a congauge bare round copper wire (diameter 0.014") was led from a reel over tension and straightening pulleys through auxiliary and principal guides located in the extrusion head as shown in Fig. 2. The close-fit sections of the guides had diameters of 0.0156" and the length of the land in the principal guide was about 0.187". The outer annular lip of the discharge mouth of the extrusion annulus had a diameter of 0.060". The width of the annulus, measured on any line intersecting and perpendicular to its conical faces, was 0.0074". The diameter of the cylindrical portion of the guide holder above the conical tip and below the fluted section was 0.187". The tip end of the principal wire guide was 0.007" below the plane of the outer lip of the annular mouthpiece. The extrusion head was maintained at 287-289 C. and polymer was extruded onto the wire at a rate of 6.9 g./min. The wire speed was 102 ft./mln. The hot coated wire was passed directly into water about 5" below the extrusion head, and. after passing through a drier to remove water, and through a continuity tester, was wound on a. reel. The coated wire was smooth and the coating well centered. A portion of the coated wire was immersed in glycerin and examined under a microscope. The ratio of the greatest thickness of the coat to the least thickness, which will be referred to as centering ratio," was 1.07:1.0. The average coating thickness was 0.0055".

, EXAMPLES II-VIII I each example the apparatus was of the type shown in Figs. 1 and 2.. f The extrusion head temperature was maintained at 285-300 C.

The annular duct from which the polymer was conducted into contact withthe wire was conical j inshape, as shown in Fig.4, and in each instance it had an included angle of 90. 3 of the examples in question employed, as the 1 core, bare round copper wire, except Example Each IV which employed tinned copper wire.

The pertinent dissimilarities among the said 3 examples are set out in Table I.

The coatings showed very, good continuity as is apparent from the following tests applied to the products of Examples I-V. In each case the coated wire was passed through a bath of mercury with a direct-current voltage of 220 volts between the wire and the mercury, a lamp being cannot be obtained when the diameter of the outer lip of the duct is small and is placed considerably below the exit end of the principal wire guide. Such a design approaches the shaping orifice type of extrusion head and gives acceptable results only in, the application of thick coatings.

The roughness of the thin coatings produced with designs such as that typified in Example VII may be due to disturbances in the flow of the polymer stream, consequent on early cessation of contact between it and the inner surface of the outer wall of the duct, followed by a renewal of such contact, at a substantially nontangential angle, prior to final issuance of the polymer from the duct. In any event, the wire speed should be maintained at a rate suflicient- 1y low, in relation to the rate of polymer feed, that there shall be no substantial or deleterious intermittency of contact, i. e., cessation of contacting followed by renewal of contacting, between the polymer stream and the inner surface of the outer wall of the duct, during the passage of the polymer through the duct.- The type of design exemplified in Figure 4 facilitates the forestalling of such re-contactlng, by eliminating the portion of the outer wall against which it is most likely to occur.

Table I Examples Variables I II III IV V VI VII VIII 1 Diameter in inches of auxiliary wire guide, if any" 0156 0156 0263 Not used Not used 026 .027 None 2 Diameter in inches of principal wire guide .0156 .0156 .0263 .0- 0270 .026 .027 .040 3 Diameter in inches of flat tip of principal guld .025 .025 0355 .042 .042 .042 .040 .0485 4 Diameter in inches oi wire (bare)... 0140 0140 0140 .0254 .0254 .0254 .0254 .0254 5 Wire speed in ft./mln 102 122 400 187 v512 518 287 518 6 Rate of polymer feed in grams/min. 6. 9 2.8 4. 28 20 20 20.5 11. 1 20.0 7 Width of duct in inches .00 4 .0074 .0062 .0096 .0066 .0063 .0096 .0062 8 Thickness of coat in inches... -0 .002 .001 .005 .0018 .002 .002 .002 9 Diameter of outer lip of duct 111 inches. -000 .060 .060 .060 .060 .060 .040 .075 10 Distance of plane of outer edge of outer lip of duct above or below outlet of wire guide in inches. 007 .007 0035 0047 0047 000 015 0045 (above) (above) (above) (below) (below) (below) (above) 11 Initial radial clearance in inches between outer lip and bare wire. I 3 3 3 0173 0173 0173 007 0248 12 Ratio of 11 t0 8 -2 -5 3-0 3.5 9.6 8.7 3.5 12.4 13 Distance of quenching bath from wire exit end of extrusion head in inches -0 5. 0 5.0 5. 0 5.0 5.0 5.0 Coating results 00 Good Good Good Good Good Poor Good arranged in the circuit to light when a discontinuity in the coat passed through the pool of 1 centering of the wire within the coating is illustrated in Example VIII. It will be noted that no auxiliary guide was used in this example and that the diameter of the principal wire guide was considerably greater than that of the wire. In spite of the loose fit of the wire in the guide, the centering ratio of the coated wire was 1.1 to 1.0. Good centering is obtained even when the guide and line-up pulleys (9 in Fig. 1) are out of line.

Example VII is included in Table I to illustrate our finding that thin, well-centered coats tioned polydecamethylene The invention has been described with particular reference to the synthetic linear polyamides because these polymers are advantageously applied by this process, and because they yield valuable insulating coatings. The polyamide coatings are characterizedby high thermal stability, excellent resistance to abrasion, good resistance to water and most organic solvents including refrigerants, and good insulating properties. These properties make the coated wire of special value in the preparation of electric blasting cap leading wires and magnet wire, e. g., for refrigerator motors. As further examples of the synthetic linear polyamides may be menadipamide, polydecamethylene sebacamide, poly-m-phenylene sebacamide, fi-aminocaproic acid polymer, 12 aminostearic acid polymer, as well as other polyamides and interpolyamides of the type mentioned in U. S. 2,071,253 and 2,130,948. The polyamides used should preferably have an intrinsic viscosity of at least 0.4, where intrinsic viscosity is defined as in U. S. 2,130,948.

The invention is not limited, however, to the use of ynthetic linear polyamides. As examples of other insulating materials which can be applied to advantage may be mentioned polyesters,

polyacetals, polyester-amides, polyurethanes. polythioureas, polymeric ethylene, unsymmetrical dichloroethylene interpolymers, vinyl resins, polymeric methyl methacrylate esters, and cellulose derivatives, particularly ethyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose. The coating materials may be modified with other substances, e. g., plasticizers,

- dyes; li flments, antioxidants, viscosity stabilizers,

and resins, e. g. phenol-formaldehyde resins.

when the coating material is susceptible to cold drawing, as is the case with the synthetic linear polyamides, the apparatus herein descrlbedcanbeusedtocoatwireinamanner differing somewhat from that described in the foregoing examples. This modification consists in casting about the wire a circular sheath or tube of the coating composition having a larger bore than the diameter of the wireaccomplished by quenching the coating before it reaches the wire-and then passing the wire and the tubular sheath of coating through a die of such a diameter than the coating will be drawn out and reduced to the diameter of the wire. The action of the die on the coating orients the coating, thereby improving its physical properties.

For most purposes, however, the process described in the foregoing exmnples is preferred since it is simpler. Thus, wire coated with polyamide can be coated with a second coating of polyamide.

Further examples of wires which may be coated are tinned-copper, aluminum, iron, constantin, Nichrome, and stranded wire, such as is used in cables and in automobile wiring. Various types of yarns and bristles also can be coated. Thus, a polyamide bristle can be coated with a more water-resistant polyamide. It is not necessary that the object coated be round or'smooth, or of uniform thickness.

Since the synthetic linear polyamides have unusually good physical properties, they find special application in the coating of other insulating materials which have good insulating properties but are deficient in one or more physical properties, e. g. in resistance to solvents. Thus, the application of polyamide to rubber coated wire improved the resistance of the insulation to heat, sunlight, ozone, lubricating oils, and gasoline. As examples of other insulating materials which may be coated with polyamides may be mentioned silk, rayon, cellulosic derivatives, e. g., ethyl cellulose, polystyrene, polyvinyl resins, e. g., polyvinyl acetals, and other resins. In spite of the fact that many of these materials melt or decompose at temperatures used in applying the molten polyamides, they are not appreciably affected, presumably because of the short exposure to the molten polyamide. In app y the process to coating of nonmetallic surfaces subject to decomposition, it usually is desirable to quench the polyamide coating immediately after its application.

The preferred quenching medium for use in the process of this invention is water. Other nonsolvents for the coating may be applied, however. Suitable quenching liquids in the case of polyamide coatings are alcohols, glycols, ketones and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The use of an organic quenching medium generally adds to the clarity of the resultant coatings, which clarity is desirable in some instances. Optionally, eyes can be added to the quenching bath to effect dyeing of the coating on the core.

The degree of adhesion of the coating to a metallic core is dependent in large measure on me manner of application. The adhesion of the coating to the wire is greatly improved by preheating the wire. Other advantages of preheating are that it results in a smoother coating and 7 reduces the heat loss from the extrusion head. Preferably, the wire is heated to at least 0., but not above the temperature of the molten insulating material. Heating to higher temperatures increases the danger of bubble formation in the coating. The preferred wire temperature in the case of polyamides lies between and 285 C. Preheating is particularly advantageous in the case of large diameter wires, since it prevents excess heat loss from the extrusion head and premature solidification of the coating on the wire.

Although rapid cooling of the coated wire is desirable in all cases, it is particularly important when preheated wire is employed. The distance of the quenching bath from the point of impingement of the coating on the wire, which, in

terms of the apparatus, is approximately at the wire outlet end of the extrusion head, will deheated wire is used, the quenching bath should be sufficiently near to the wire outlet end of the extrusion head for the time oftravel through this distance not to exceed 0.05 second, or preferably, 0.02 second. The formation of bubbles in the coating thus is prevented.

Since certain coating compositions, including the polyamides, are subject to oxidation at elevated temperatures, it is desirable to have an atmosphere of inert gas, e. g. nitrogen, in the zone separating the extrusion head and the quenching bath.

Although the extrusion apparatus herein described is of particular advantage in applying thincoating, it is not so limited. It also may he used for the application of thick coatings, e. g. of 0.01 to 0.02 inch in thickness. Unlike extrusion apparatus having a shaping orifice, a single apparatus of the type herein described may be employed for the application of coatings of widely different thicknesses. This result is accomplished merely by varying the rate at which the polymer is fed to the wire, or the speed of the wire, or both. Thus, a single extrusion head can beused to apply coating rangingfrom 0.001 to 0.010 in. in thickness, on wires of identical size. As indicated in the foregoing examples, the wire speed can be varied over a wide range. It is possible to coat wire at speeds as high as 2500 ft./min., which is greatly in excess of the speeds permitted by solvent application processes.

It is very important, particularly in the application of very thin coatings, to reduce friction between the wire and guides as much as possible. Excessive friction here manifests itself in rough and poorly centered coats. One method for overcoming this difiiculty is to employ a large clearance (0.002 to 0.04 inch) between the wire and the guide (see Example V). Reduction of the land or close fitting section of the guide to the minimum practical length, is also advantageous. Lengths of 0.20 to 0.015 in. have been used but a land 0.015 to 0.03 inch long is preferred. Another method is to apply a very thin film of lubricant, e. g. oil or tricresyl phosphate, on the wire, prior to its passage through the guide. Considerable improvement can be obtained by tapering the approaches and exits to the close fit sections. When a straight taper is used an included angle of less than is desira ble. It is preferred, however, to use a slightly bell-mouthed taper, as indicated in Fig. 2, to make the guides of very hard materials such as diamond, or cemented metallic carbides, and to have the close-fit section the same, or only slightly larger in diameter than "the bare wire. This design is illustrated in Example VI, in which the principal guide was made of Carboloy (tungsten carbide). By these expedients a coat is obtained which is very smooth and practically continuous, with a clearance of 0.005 in; or less in the case of No. 22 gauge wire. When the same clearance is used with guides of hardened alloy steel, the coating is extremely rough and sometimes in the form of uniformly spaced beads due to grabbing of the wire in the guide.-

It has been found advantageous in the case of tinned wire to use a cold auxiliary guide some distance above the hot extrusion head, but in many instances it is possible to dispense with an auxiliary guide altogether.

As already indicated, lubricants can be applied to the wire prior to its passage through the extrusion head. Other materials also may be applied, it being especially desirable to employ relatively thermally stable high boiling materials which are compatible to some extent with the coating. High boiling phenols and sulfonamides,

e. g. octyl phenol and diamylbenzenesulfonamide,.

are used to advantage when the coating is a polyamide. Resinsv or high molecular weight organic acids, such as stearic and palmitic, also can be employed. Materials which increase the adherence of the coatto the filamentary object may be applied to the latter, prior to the coating operation, as may also antioxidants and plas- One of the most characteristic features of the 1 tion within the duct, and consequently about the core when the composition leaves the duct. To thisend the above factors, as well as several others, may be varied rather widely with the different coating problems. The pressure drop through the duct should be large in comparison with that in the feeding channels.

The diameter of the outer edge of the annular mouthpiece ofthe duct should be at least that of the coated wire, and preferably is considerably larger. For example, diameters of 0.03 to,0.10 inch are'suitable for use with No. 22 gauge wire, but a diameter of 0.05 to 0.08 inch is preferred. These ranges vary, of course, with the wire size. It is preferred that the tip or wire exit end of the principal wire guide should be close to the duct outlet so that the tubular film of coating composition will be cast directly on the wire as it issues from the guide. The distance between the bottom of this guide tip and the plane of the outer edge of the annular discharge mouth, measured along the line'of wire travel, should be very small, and it is preferred to have the tip bottom and outer edge in the same plane. It is possible V ticizers for the coating material. Application of i extrusion apparatus is the conical annular, duct for feeding the coating composition to the core. The optimum width of the conical duct depends upon a number of factors, such as extrusion rate, the viscosity of the coating composition, diameter of the outlet mouth, and included angle made by the duct; but for most'purposes a width of 0.005 to 0.011 in. is preferred. Narrower ducts have been used, even down to 0002-0003 inch, but in this range the pressure drop becomes excessive for practical extrusion rates. Also, very small ducts function under'the disadvantage that inaccuracies in'machining, such as slight departures of the male and female conical surfaces from perfect concentricity, constitute a greater percentage of the total width thanis the case with ducts in; the width range indicated above.

, Since these inaccuracies are reflected in the rate of flow of coating composition as a power functo obtain satisfactory results however, with the said tip even as much as 0.015 inch above or below the outer edge 'of the discharge mouth. In the case of especially thick coatings it may be possible to have the tip still farther back of the outer edge. For thin coats (0.004 in. and less), howevenmuch better results are obtained if both inner and outer edges of the annular mouthpiece are in nearly the same horizontal plane, and we prefer to have the inner edge of the mouthpiece within 0.010 inch (measured along line of object, travel) of the outer edge.

Where the plane of the outer lip is below that of the inner lip, the diameter of the outer lip should be appropriately enlarged, since it is a general characteristic of the invention that the contact between the issuing stream of coating material and the inside of the outer wall of the In other words, there suit from simultaneous compressive resistance offered by the inner surface of the outer wall of the duct and the outer surface of the wire, against a stream pressing at once against, i. e. being, in eflect, squeezed between or choked by, both of said surfaces jointly and simultaneously. The coating streams employed in carrying out the process of the invention are never thick enough for such compressive effect to come into existence; and the apparatus employed in carrying out the invention is designed to facilitate the avoidance of such compressive effect. One of the more notable advantages accruing from this feature of the invention is the minimization or substantial elimination -of the prior art difficulties incident to the achievement of good centering.

Although the conical tip of the principal guide and the coned hole in the head body are both shown as having been constructed with 90 included angles, this feature is not essential to the success of the invention, and the angle may be varied widely, forexample over the range 30 to portance. It should b realized that optimum 1 width of the duct varies with the extrusion rate, I i and that the main objective of duct design is to achieve uniform distribution of coating composi- 180. Similarly, the coned hole bored from the base of the extrusion head body coaxially with,

and intersecting, the conical hole mentioned above, also as indicated as having been made with I a included angle. Equally good or better results are obtained with arrangements in which the included angle is greater, since there is less danger of extruded material flicking back and fouling the outer edge of the mouthpiece.

In the apparatus herein described, the filamentary object is drawn in a downward direction. The extrusion can b conducted horizontally. however, although in the case of heavy coats an eccentric displacement of the coat on the filamentary object may result, unless the quenching bath is very close to the extrusion head.

For synthetic linear polyamides and other crystalline polymers the extrusion temperature should be above the melting point of the polymer but below the point where decomposition becomes serious. Extrusion temperatures of 270-300 C. are most suitable in the case of polyhexametnylen adipamide. In the case of plastic materials, 1. e. materials which do not have a sharp melting point but which soften to plastic masses on heatingythe temperature should be high enough to allow flow of the material to and through the extrusion head without excessive pressure drop. In most cases these materials must be fed to the extrusion head with a screw pump instead of a gear pump.

The more important advantages of this invention are:

1. It makes possible the application of smooth, thin coatings of uniform thickness to filamentary objects, such as wires and threads, at much higher coating speeds than is possible by solution coating, which is the only known prior method for apph'ing coatings of comparable thinness and smoothness. In contrast to coatings applied by solution methods, coatings applied by the present method are substantially free from pin holes.

2. Coatings of excellent concentricity with respect to the filamentary object can be achieved even with thin coats, i. e., coats less than 0.004". Heretofore it has been considered impractical to obtain such thin well-centered coats by extrusion methods. This concentricity of coating and object is effected not only for thin coats but even for relatively thick coats, without laborious precision alignment of the wire in the extrusion head. This centering is important from the standpoint of economy of coating material and of space in electrical apparatus.

3. A much wider choice of coating thicknesses is available than has been the case where .conventional extrusion heads have been used.

4. Bubble-free coatings are obtained, even with coating materials which tend to develop bubbles when heated above their melting points.

5. Control of the degree of adhesion of the coating to the filamentary object is achieved, through adjustment of the temperature of the wire just prior to coating, or of the distance between the wire-exit and the quench bath.

6. Not only metallic filamentary objects, but also filamentary objects having surfaces which are non-metallic, or subject to thermal decomposition at the extrusion temperatures employed, may be coated successfully, in accordance with the invention.

The invention is of special utility in the application of insulating coatings to electrical conductors for various uses, for example, dynamoelectric machines, refrigerator motors, radio hook ups andaerials, high tension and telephone ca-' bles, generator coils, radio, telephone and telegraph coils, transformers, slot insulation in motors, ignition wire, and telephone switchboards. The invention is particularly useful in the making of magnet wire, 1. e., insulated wire used generally in the form of coils for the purpose of interchange of electric and magnetic energy. The invention also is useful in coating other filamentary objects, such as cotton, silk, bristles, or the like, for the purpose of varying their properties.

Since many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Extrusion coating apparatus of the kind wherein heated coating material is fed to a heated extrusion head through which a core to be coated is passed in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the core, which said apparatus comprises, in combination, means for depositing coating material uniformly and concentrically about the core, and means for maintaining the core centered; said first mentioned means comprising an annular duct converging to form an annular mouth, the said mouth comprising an outer annular lip and an inner annular lip, the former being substantially farther removed from the axis of the core than the latter, and said mouth constituting the final structure for distributing coating material about the core; said second mentioned means comprising a guide located adjacent to the said mouth, the said lips and the said guide being concentrically disposed with respect to each other, and the said lips being essentially in the same plane with the coreexit end of said guide.

2. Extrusion coating apparatus of the kind wherein heated coating materialis fed to a heated extrusion head through which a core to be coated is passed in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the core, which said apparatus comprises, in combination, means for depositing coating material uniformly and concentrically about the core, and means for maintaining the core centered; said first mentioned means comprising an annular header disposed concentrically about a straight line defined by and passing through the center of the hereinafter mentioned mouth and the center of the hereinafter mentioned guide, said header leading into a set of ducts of substantially uniform size concentrically arranged about thesaid line, having their longitudinal axes substantially equidistant therefrom and parallel therewith, the said ducts leading into an annular recess likewise concentrically disposed about the said line, and said annular recess leading into an annular duct converging to form an annular mouth, the said duct being of uniform width between its walls at all points on either inside wall surface equidistantly located from the center of the said mouth, and the said mouth comprising an outer annular lip and an inner annular lip, the former being substantially farther removed from the axis of the core than the latter, said lips being approximately in the same plane, and said mouth constituting the core, said duct terminating in an annular mouth whose outer lip is substantially i'arther removed from the path of the core than its inner lip, said inner and 'outer lips being essentially in the same plane with the core-exit end of said guide and 5 being concentrically disposed with respect thereto. 4. The apparatus set forth in claim 3 wherein the conical duct 150.005" to 0.011" in width.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 in which the smallest diameter of said guide has a radial clearance of at least 0.002 inch with respect to the core to be coated.

JOSEPH H. BAL'I'HIS. 

